My Favorite Men.

The following are men (dead and alive) who inspire, motivate, and just make me happy. Whether it be for their intelligence, integrity, courage, compassion, wisdom, talent,  or dreams; these dudes rock!

Albert Einstein 

Born 1879 Died 1955

He was a: theoretical physicist

He's awesome because - Albert was autistic and struggled with speech problems and was often thought of as "dim-witted" by his teachers. He was a disappointment to his father for failing the mathematical portions of his university entrance exam. Despite these road blocks Einstein went on to receive the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his services to Theoretical Physics and published more than 300 scientific works and over 150 non-scientific works. Einstein is considered the father of modern physics and is probably the most successful scientist there ever was.

He said some cool things:

  "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind".

  "How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is

wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy"

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning".

Abraham Lincoln 

Born 1809  Died 1865

He was: a lawyer, legislator, and President. 

He's awesome because:  Lincoln was born to a poverty stricken family in Kentucky and as a child was unsatisfied with the life of manual labor associated with farming. He taught himself to read and write and continued to educate himself throughout his life. The biggest accomplishment of his life was preserving the Union by force while ending slavery and promoting economic modernization.

He said some cool things:

"Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world."

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."

"If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance".

Mohandas Gandhi

Born 1869 Died 1948

He was a: political and ideological leader and civil rights activist

He's awesome because: Through witnessing firsthand the rasicm, predjudice and injustice against Indians in South Africa Gandhi started to question his people's status within the British Empire, and his own place in society.  Gandhi lived a life of simplicity and moral clarity, and his example in nonviolent conflict resolution has inspired protesters and campaigners for human rights and democracy the world over. Gandhi was arrested four times throughout his life and was held in contempt by most much of the British empire. He staged several hunger strikes which had drastic affects on the unrest between the Sunni and Shi'a Muslims.
 Sadly, Gandhi was ultimately murdered in 1948.

He said some cool things:

"All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take".

"All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth".

"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind". 

"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves".

Harvey Milk

Born 1930 Died 1978
He was: The first openly gay man to be elected in to public office in California.

He's awesome because: Milk ran for office and lost three times before he was elected in to office. Milk became an icon in San Francisco and a martyr for gay rights and and was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance for the city of San Fransisco. Harvey Milk was assassinated in 1977 and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal
of Freedom in 2009.

He said some cool things:

"Hope will never be silent".

"More people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, my friends, that is true perversion".

Ray Bradbury
Born 1920
He is: An author

He's awesome because: The recognition and awards he has accrued over the years include the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America, and the PEN Center USA West Lifetime Achievement Award. There is crater on the moon named for a collection of Ray Bradbury short stories (Dandelion Wine). Bradbury's writings have always been well ahead of the times and are just plain prophetic in some cases.
He said some cool things: 
"If you enjoy living, it is not difficult to keep the sense of wonder".
"Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories".
"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you".